The Wedding Is Over, Now What?

The wedding is now over.....

The dress has been packed away, the presents opened and put in their proper place around your new place, and you’ve both returned to somewhat of a normal routine.  After months of anticipation and the excitement of planning a wedding, it is all the sudden over.

Maybe you are sad and a little disappointed that all the excitement is over.

You take a deep breath as you realize, "This is for real and I am really married." This is what I have always dreamed of and I am finally Mrs... ...

The fun and relaxing honeymoon is over.

Bridal showers have been replaced with grocery shopping, cleaning house, and laundry.

The beautiful wedding gown and veil have been replaced by every day clothes and bad hair days.

Your handsome groom dressed in his tuxedo has been taken over by a man snoring in your bed and wearing boxers around the house on the weekends.

This is where I have to stop and laugh...You are at that point now where you are starting to get to know your hubby in a way you never knew.

Didn't know he liked to sprawl the bed when he sleeps, did you?  And that he burps and much more...Maybe your husband is modest but YES ladies, it will happen! 

Ok. Back to what I was saying...

But while our everyday lives won't be as beautiful and dramatic as our wedding day, we can still keep a bride’s heart throughout the course of our marriage. Work pressure, financial struggles, and every day routine may fill your schedule, but the choice of love does not have to fade with time.  Not only is it possible to be as in love as on your wedding day, it is possible to be more in love as each day passes. 

 Now What??

First off, enjoy the silence.  Enjoy having time with your husband, family and friends.  Enjoy looking through the pictures of the wedding and anticipating the videos to come.  Enjoy all of the memories of the wedding that your family and friends have been talking about. 
There are so many exciting elements to a wedding, but also some exciting elements when it is all over.  Why do you have to stop pampering yourself?  Why do you have to stop having some alone time?  You should continue to do all of this, even if you don’t have the “excuse” of a wedding to plan. 
My favorite part of this time, was getting to spend the time with my husband.  Getting to have actual conversations, that don’t have to do with linen colors or flowers.  We can talk about our life together and what we want as the next step.  This is very exciting.  So, enjoy “Life after a wedding”.

Second. Love takes work — work that is harder than any wedding planning ever was! 

One of the best habits you can develop early on in marriage is to rehearse to yourself all the things that you love about your spouse. You love him for all his quirky ideas regardless.So that when he starts to leave the toilet seat up, the clothes on the floor, and he slurps his cereal every morning you can tell yourself that you love that man more then you did on your wedding day.

Don’t just keep things to yourself. Communicate. Tell your hubby what you love about him.Praise and encouragement will go further than any hen-pecking or criticism ever will.

Celebrate the milestones. Celebrate the first month, the first half a year, the first year, the first 1,000 days, 5,000 days, etc.  Long lasting marriages that are full of love and friendship are a rarity in today’s world. Make a big deal out of yours and make each milestone an occasion to celebrate what you have.

Continue to date each other. If at all possible, choose one night a week and keep it as your date night. This is hard to achieve with the busy, modern lives we all live, but it can mean everything to a marriage.  Having that one night a week to turn off the television, not get on the Internet, leave work worries behind, and just focus on each other can keep both of you centered on what’s really important –- your love and your marriage.You don't have to go out to this. You can make a favorite meal of his or yours and enjoy it together.

Love. Love. and Love some more!

 A great marriage can be better than any fairy-tale wedding ever was!